God, how hard is it to get a Punisher film right? People talk about how hard it is to make superheros connect realistically with audiences, but Punisher isn't even technically a superhero. The concept is more akin to Death Wish than Spider-Man. It's entirely realistic and it's entirely doable.
One thing people expect though is comic book-level action. Yeah, it's easier to do a character like Punisher with a smaller budget because he lacks superpowers. But I think these films are missing the widescreen appeal of the comic books. Vigilante revenge movies have been done before, a million of them. But for a successful comic book-inspired one, it has to be larger-than-life. That's the difference, say, between an ideal Punisher movie and a Death Wish movie.
